The best day trips from Lisbon are Sintra and Évora, which each fill a day and work by train, plus Cascais for a half day by the sea; Nazaré is the hardest, a long coach ride that deserves a night. Óbidos and Fátima are half days, and Arrábida needs a tour or a car.
| Destination | Travel time | Transport | Self-guided | Tour | Time needed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SintraPalaces, forest park, castle | 40 min | Suburban train | € 25.10–34 | € 89.10 | 6–9 h | Worth a full day |
 CascaisBeach town, seafront walk | 40 min | Suburban train | € 5.10 | € 79 | 3–5 h | Worth half a day |
 MafraRoyal palace, then Ericeira | 47 min | Direct bus | € 21.20 | – | 2–4 h | Worth half a day |
 Setúbal and ArrábidaCoastal hills, coves, wine | 58 min | Tour coach, or train + seasonal bus | € 11.40 | € 85 | 6–8 h | Only with a tour |
 ÓbidosWalled medieval town, castle | 1 h | Express bus | € 18.90 | – | 2–4 h | Worth half a day |
 FátimaCatholic shrine, two basilicas | 1 h 20 | Coach | – | – | 2–3 h | Worth half a day |
 NazaréBeach, clifftop, big waves | 1 h 25 | Coach | – | – | 4–6 h | Better to sleep there |
 ÉvoraRoman temple, Chapel of Bones | 1 h 43 | Intercidades train | € 32.50 | € 85 | 5–7 h | Worth a full day |
 TomarTemplar convent above a river town | 2 h 01 | Regional train | € 37–37.60 | € 110 | 5–7 h | Worth a full day |
 PortoSecond city, river, port lodges | 2 h 39 | Alfa Pendular train | € 64.50–74.50 | € 109.99 | 8–14 h | Better to sleep there |
No destination from Lisbon matches this filter.
Last checked: · Train times and fares from CP and Fertagus, bus fares from Rodoviária do Oeste; opening days from each attraction's official site.
Three ways to use your free days, from the single trip we would pick to a full set.
With one free day, go to Sintra. The train from Rossio takes 40 minutes and the day fills itself: Pena Palace in the morning, lunch in the old town, then Quinta da Regaleira or the Moorish Castle. Book the earliest Pena slot before you leave Lisbon and be on a train by 08:00. The warning: after 10:00 the 434 bus queue can cost you an hour.
Give one day to Sintra and the other to Évora, 1 hour 43 minutes by Intercidades from Oriente. They do not repeat each other: one is forest and royal palaces, the other a walled city with a Roman temple and the Chapel of Bones. Put Sintra on a weekday, when the trains run more often and the hill is calmer. Reserve the Évora seats first, because there are only five trains on weekdays and three at weekends, and the 16:51 back fills up.
Do Sintra and Évora as full days and put Cascais between them as a rest. Leave Cais do Sodré around 09:40, walk the old centre and out to Boca do Inferno, eat lunch near the beach and be back in Lisbon by mid-afternoon. You can get off at Belém on the way home, since it is on the same line. In winter, swap Cascais for Mafra, which is indoors and shut only on Tuesdays. Check weekdays before you fix the order: Évora's weekend trains start later, at 09:58.
What the weather does, how full it gets and which trips work best in each season.
Works bestSintraÉvoraTomarSetúbal and Arrábida
Works bestCascaisSetúbal and ArrábidaNazaréMafra
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°C) | 15.1 | 16.4 | 18.9 | 20.4 | 23.1 | 26.1 | 28.2 | 28.8 | 26.6 | 22.8 | 18.1 | 15.4 |
| Average low (°C) | 8.6 | 9.1 | 11 | 12.3 | 14.4 | 16.8 | 18.2 | 18.8 | 17.6 | 15.3 | 11.8 | 9.4 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 5.8 | 2 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 8.7 | 9.9 | 10 |
Climate averages: IPMA, Lisboa / Instituto Geofísico normals 1991-2020 (via Wikipedia, Lisbon)
The suburban trips cost very little: a return to Sintra or Cascais is € 5.10, and the Navegante card that holds it is € 0.50. Money goes on entry tickets, with Pena at € 20, and on distance. Évora is € 25.50 return by Intercidades, and Porto costs the most, so buy those seats in advance. For Óbidos, Fátima and Nazaré together, the tour from € 39 costs less than the separate coaches. Cascais, Óbidos and Fátima have no entry ticket at all.
In Sintra, try the two local pastries: travesseiros, filled with almond and egg cream, and queijadas. Óbidos sells ginja, a sour cherry liqueur, in a chocolate cup. Évora is the place for a sit-down lunch of black pork, migas or açorda with Alentejo wine. Setúbal is known for fried cuttlefish and Azeitão for sheep's cheese. Nazaré grills fish and dries it on racks by the beach. At Fátima and on Arrábida's beaches a packed lunch is the better idea.
The same destinations, sorted by what you want from the day.
Worth a full dayA hill town of royal palaces and forest parks, 40 minutes by suburban train from Rossio station in central Lisbon.
Worth half a dayA former fishing town with small beaches, a marina and a seafront walk, 40 minutes by train from Cais do Sodré station.
Worth half a dayA baroque royal palace and convent that takes up one side of a small town, 47 minutes north-west of Lisbon by direct bus from Campo Grande.
Only with a tourA natural park of limestone hills and small coves south of the Tagus, beside the port city of Setúbal, about 50 km from Lisbon.
Worth half a dayA small walled town with a castle and whitewashed lanes, one hour north of Lisbon by direct express bus from Campo Grande.
Worth half a dayA Catholic pilgrimage shrine built where three children reported apparitions in 1917, about 1 hour 30 minutes north of Lisbon by coach.
Better to sleep thereA fishing and surf town with a long beach and a clifftop quarter, about 100 km north of Lisbon, 1 hour 25 to 1 hour 50 by coach.
Worth a full dayA walled Alentejo city with a Roman temple, a cathedral and a chapel lined with bones, about 1 hour 40 minutes east of Lisbon by Intercidades train.
Worth a full dayA small river town below the Convent of Christ, a former Templar stronghold, about 2 hours north-east of Lisbon by direct Regional train.
Better to sleep therePortugal's second city, on the Douro river in the north of the country, reached from Lisbon in 2 hours 39 minutes by the fastest Alfa Pendular train.
